Marlee
Marlee was the 536th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 564 babies. Its best year was 2008, when it ranked 367th with 890 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 81 places. More babies were named Marlee in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Meaning (as Marley) boundary clearing, pleasant clearing or marten wood · Old English
- Rank in 2025
- #536 girls, down 106 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 564girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 2008890 babies
- Total since 1880
- 17,923babies recorded
What does the name Marlee mean?
Marlee is a spelling of Marley, pronounced the same way, so it shares Marley's meaning and origin.
Marley is an English place-based surname from several places of that name. Wiktionary derives it from Old English lēah, "woodland clearing", with a first element that may be mǣre, "boundary", myrig, "pleasant", or mearþ, "marten". Bardsley also treats it as a place-based name. In Ireland it can anglicize a Gaelic surname. Its modern use as a first name owes much to the musician Bob Marley.
lēah (Old English, “woodland clearing”)mǣre (Old English, “boundary”)myrig (Old English, “pleasant”)
How sure is this? Uncertain. Different places named Marley have different first elements.
Related names: Marlee, Marly, Morley.
See also: English names, names that mean meadow, hill or valley, names from places.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Marley', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (1901), s.v. 'Marley', Henry Frowde (public domain; Internet Archive scan)
Marlee popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 269 since 2004, 13 in 2025.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #536 | 564 |
| 2020 | #430 | 714 |
| 2010 | #514 | 581 |
| 2000 | #968 | 219 |
| 1990 | #1,128 | 154 |
| 1980 | #6,165 | 11 |
| 1970 | #3,078 | 22 |
| 1960 | #3,302 | 15 |
| 1950 | #2,035 | 23 |
| 1940 | #2,376 | 13 |
| 1930 | #4,372 | 6 |
| 1920 | — | — |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Marlee, counting every spelling?
Marlee is a spelling of Marley, a name family that ranked #196 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #536 for Marlee on its own. Together these spellings went to 1,779 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marley | 950 | #322 | 5,684 |
| Marlee | 564 | #536 | 3,157 |
| Marlie | 153 | #1,422 | 730 |
| Marli | 79 | #2,317 | 500 |
| Marly | 25 | #5,179 | 155 |
| Marleah | 8 | #11,553 | 44 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Marlee?
564 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Marlee (0.16 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Marlee born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 15 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Marlee.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Marlee?
About 17,300 people born in the US named Marlee are alive today, with a median age of 14; half are between 7 and 22. That makes Marlee mostly worn by children and young adults.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Marlee by state
How common Marlee was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in West Virginia (4.1×), Mississippi (3.4×), Alabama (2.7×), Kentucky (2.7×), Louisiana (2.5×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Nevada, California, Massachusetts.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Marlee: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Marlee, they share its era and feel.
Questions about the name Marlee
What does Marlee mean?
Marlee is a spelling of Marley, usually explained as “boundary clearing, pleasant clearing or marten wood”, but this is uncertain. Certainty: uncertain.
How popular is the name Marlee?
Marlee was the 536th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 564 babies. Its best year was 2008, when it ranked 367th with 890 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 81 places. More babies were named Marlee in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Is Marlee a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Marlee in the US.
Where is Marlee most popular?
In 2021–2025, Marlee was most common in West Virginia (1.60 per 1,000 girls), followed by Mississippi and Wyoming.